Press Release - Sept. 14, 2017

Seattle Expert to Address Prostitution Laws

VANCOUVER, Sept. 14, 2017 – A diverse group of organizations and individuals that sponsored last year’s Buying Sex is a Crime campaign is taking the next step in targeting sexual exploitation of women and young people.

The anti-human trafficking group, which is working to eliminate the sexual exploitation of women, youth and girls, has invited Valiant Richey, Senior Deputy Attorney for King County, Seattle, to speak at the Vancouver Public Library on Monday, Oct. 16.

Richey has worked for five years in the Special Assault Unit dealing with cases of physical and sexual abuse of children and sexual abuse of adults. He coordinates Buyer Beware: A Partnership to End Commercial Sexual Exploitation and will share his city’s experience and lessons learned in tackling the demand side of commercial sexual exploitation, as well as how the law is being enforced.

The group’s spokesperson, lawyer Gwendoline Allison, said the organization supports Canada’s new prostitution law, which makes it a crime to buy sex or profit from the sale of another’s body.

“But this legislation, which was passed in 2014, will be reviewed after five years. Before the review begins, we want to shed light on the seriousness of the purchase and exploitation of people in our community, the social harm that results from prostitution, the fact that women and children are most negatively impacted, and the inordinate toll it takes on the lives of Indigenous girls, youth, and women,” said Allison.

Allison said the group is also concerned about the lack of enforcement of prostitution laws in many jurisdictions, including Vancouver, and wants to raise public awareness of the problem.

Details of Valiant Richey presentation:Monday, Oct. 16, 2017, 7-9 p.m. (Doors Open at 6:30 p.m.)Vancouver Public Library, 350 W. Georgia StreetEvent is free and open to the public, but registration is required. Please RSVP by clicking here.